Gone are the days of written timesheets and balancing books by hand. Now, business owners can manage their finances through simple-to-use apps and intuitive online platforms.

It’s never been quicker, easier, or more convenient. Today, a business can pay employees, file taxes, track invoices, do billing, balance the budget, and analyze the company’s finances.

We found five of the best apps and platforms to make you and your business’ financial obligations a cinch.

Wave

Wave offers many different products for accounting, invoicing, payments, payroll, and receipts. Most of them are free! Wave’s software has been approved by accountants and has many helpful features.

For instance, you can connect your bank and PayPal accounts to the app so that transactions will automatically show up on your dashboard. You can also generate A/R and A/P reports for you or your accountant, and even create invoices from a mobile device. It’s a widely utilized platform, and according to their website, Wave has more than 2.5 million users in over 200 countries around the world.

Due.com

Due.com is all about providing businesses with the tools they need for all their invoicing needs. It’s free for five clients and five projects. If you want full access, it’s just $25 to $49 per year.

Some of their features include:

• Online time tracking
• PayPal integration
• A range of invoice templates (that are designed with your business’ logo)
• Reports that show the amount of time and resources spent on a client.

All of your business’ information is organized on their dashboard. Due’s interface also illustrates any unpaid invoices, outstanding income, the total tax your business has invoiced, and important information on your projects.

Chargify

With Chargify, you’re able to take control of the recurring bill requirements for your business. You can set up the date, time, and frequency in which you bill each of your clients, and offer a trial period for new customers. Chargify lets you accept many types of payment including PayPal, credit cards, and eChecks (in various forms of currency).

Other features include:

• The ability to provide discounts
• The option of coupon codes
• The benefit of charging sales and use taxes based on your customer’s location

Statements, receipts, and invoices come along with your business’ subscription. If you want to see what Chargify is all about, just sign up for a free trial, or pay $65 a month to manage 20 customers. The premium plans are $129, $169, and $459 a month, respectively.

FreshBooks

Accounting tasks, business finance, and invoicing is made easier with the help of FreshBooks, a cloud-based platform that offers plans starting at $9.95 per month.

FreshBooks lets you…

• Invoice a client in any currency
• See when your client opens your invoice
• Set up automatic payment reminders
• Ping customers when they’re late on a payment

Over time, you can view which clients frequently pay late, which could help you determine whether or not to drop them. If your clients are old school, FreshBooks will help you invoice them by first-class (snail) mail, too! And when April 15 rolls around, the platform lets you export all your data to a spreadsheet. Sending tax documents to your accountant has never been easier.

TurboTax Mobile App

Instead of going into a local accountant’s office or utilizing a service like H&R block, save time and energy by using the TurboTax Mobile App.  Once you’ve snapped a photo of your W-2, the app imports all the data you need to fill out your taxes. It’s a great app for beginners and those prone to form-filling mistakes. All you have to do is answer a few simple questions, and TurboTax guarantees a maximum refund. Small business owners and sole proprietors are charged only $104.99 to file their federal returns with TurboTax.

The Business Finance Takeaway

As a business owner, you know how difficult it can be to keep track of all your financial information and documents. The best way is to start storing and organizing right from the beginning; with the very first invoice or financial document you come in contact with. Always store your company’s business records in a place that meets compliance and regulations, and that has strong structure support and accountability. You will also need to find such documents quickly and easily. Before you dive into any of the above apps or platforms, it may be wise to get your company all nice and cozy with some document management software. Your accounting team (and everyone else) will thank you. 

Now you’re ready to simplify the financial process, keep track of your records, and improve the accountability of your business and its activities. Any of the platforms, apps or software above can quiet the business finance numbers racing through your brain, so that you can enjoy the more rewarding sides of running a business.  Here’s your chance to simply plug in the data and move along, as your company (and all of its endeavors) continues to grow.

Which financial apps and software have you found to be the most beneficial to your business? Tell us about them in the comments section below.

Header image by Sonny Abesamis. Embedded images by Liz West, Alexander Lyubavin, and Giuseppe Milo.